Two bit-part actors who have appeared on TV 2,500 times - PHOTO

Two of Britain's most prolific TV extras finally got to take centre stage when they got married five years after meeting - on the set of a BBC soap.John Walker, 41, and Neilum Ragia-Walker, 37, have individually appeared over 2,500 times on the nation's best-loved dramas, soaps and comedies.The pair even played husband and wife during their first on-screen appearance together in 2008 after John picked pretty Neilum to play his other half in BBC's Doctors.And since meeting on the set they have now featured on screen as a couple an impressive 150 times on 40 different shows.They have popped up in the background of some of TV's most iconic programmes including Casualty, The Bill, and Coronation Street.And the telly addict couple have become such a regular feature on Midsomer Murders that show bosses gave them a recurring role as a police duo.They have also appeared together on Shameless, Casualty, Misfits and Gavin and Stacey.But the pair finally took centre stage last month when they tied the knot at stately Aston Hall near their home in Dudley, West Midlands.John revealed it was co-star Suranne Jones who nudged him towards finally tying the knot when he appeared in detective drama Scott and Bailey.He said: 'She would get on at me constantly for not actually having a wedding date set.'Whenever I saw her she would ask 'have you got a date yet, John?' and the answer was always 'no'.'So I suppose it was her that got me to finally get off my bum and set things in motion for the big day.'Sadly she wasn't able to make the wedding but she did write us a lovely letter which was a really lovely surprise on the day.'The wedding was fantastic, there were about 120 people at the reception and 250 at the evening do.'There were lots of people we've worked with during our time as extras, some people came from very far away which was really touching.'Extras have to eat last on set so at the wedding reception there were lots of jokes about whether or not the guests were allowed to queue up.'It's been absolutely fantastic, I still can't believe we're a married couple, although we've played one so many times maybe I shouldn't be surprised.'Neilum recalled how John even predicted he would marry his leading lady when they first met - although she took some convincing.She said: ''We spent all day filming and at the end of the day he said that one day he would marry me.'I actually thought he was quite a strange man.'But John won Neilum over and the pair were together for five years before they tied the knot.Neilum even joked that the November 15 ceremony - attended by many TV colleagues - was like being at work.She added: 'There were lots of other extras there who are our friends, it was almost like being on set again.'John, who works full time as a Tesco counter manager, has been a TV extra for 15 years and worked alongside acting legends David Jason, Julie Walters, Daniel Radcliffe and Jack Black during his illustrious 'acting' career.At the height of his work he appeared as a doctor in Hollyoaks, Coronation Street and Emmerdale - all in the same week.And last night (Fri) John made his film debut in 'Dead Time' on the Horror Channel, which he also produced.The supermarket worker reckons he has clocked up 70 hours on screen - equivalent to 35 feature-length films - and has even written a book about his experiences.He added: 'It's a great chance to get away from real life, have some fun and see some of the stars.'I love seeing myself in the background of the nations favourite programmes.'(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az